For years, YouTube has been closely scrutinized for the way it handles politics and talk of extremism on its platform. In the wake of former U.S. President Donald Trump’s ban from the major online sites, however, YouTube is beginning to make some changes. On June 4th, YouTube announced that it is allowing former President Trump back on their platform, with a few restrictions.
The decision to bring back Trump comes a few weeks after Google-owned YouTube initially suspended him on January 12, 2021, as part of a broader effort to clamp down on rhetoric that incites violence. Trump’s account was suspended after he violated YouTube’s policies several times.
The announcement by YouTube confirms that Trump is allowed back on the platform, but he will have to follow “strict standards.” Specifically, YouTube has warned that Trump’s channel may receive strikes if he posts videos with claims that the 2021 election was fraudulent or content that encourages violence. Such videos would be flagged by YouTube and removed from the platform.
To make it easier to track Trump’s speeches, YouTube has also introduced a feature that will help viewers distinguish his comments from other political content on the site. Until now, a separate channel was created for Trump’s videos. With the new feature, Trump’s videos will be marked with an “informercial” label, so viewers can easily identify that the content is from the former president.
Even though YouTube has allowed Trump back on its platform, the restrictions around what kind of content he can post are significant. This, coupled with the new labeling feature, suggests that YouTube is trying to ensure that its users can easily identify which videos come from President Trump, and avoid content that could potentially incite violence or undermine the validity of the 2021 election.
Overall, YouTube’s decision to allow former President Trump back on its platform is a controversial one. However, it is a move that undergoes much thoughtful consideration as they try to strike a balance between allowing users to express their opinion and making sure that the platform is not used to spread dangerous rhetoric that could lead to harm. It remains to be seen whether YouTube will be able to keep President Trump in line, but their efforts so far have been encouraging.
